Israel-Hamas war updates and latest news on Gaza conflict

An Israeli military spokesperson criticized the recent spread of protests against Israel as uninformed, urging non-participants in the country’s conflict with Hamas to take sides on moral grounds.

“I think that people who are out and are protesting against Israel are either uninformed or really filled with hate towards Israel based on things that have nothing to do with what is going on with Gaza now,” Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Jonathan Conricus told ABC Radio Melbourne on Sunday night.

Demonstrators have taken to the streets of several Middle Eastern and European countries out of solidarity with the Palestinian civilians of the Gaza Strip, who face severe electricity, medical, food, fuel and water shortages as a result of Israel’s retaliatory siege against Palestinian militant group Hamas.

“I don’t think that we should be forced to provide sustenance to the same enemy that is firing rockets at our civilians and trying to kill our civilians,” Conricus said, referencing Israel’s decision to interrupt deliveries of its own supplies to the Gaza Strip within days of the Oct. 7 Hamas terror attacks.

Antisemitic incidents and hate crimes have also picked up in the two weeks since the start of hostilities.

“I actually think that one should take sides. One should take sides and choose, according to your own morals, where you stand,” Conricus added. “We are not the aggressor. We didn’t start this war … We are now defending ourselves.”

— Ruxandra Iordache

A full surrender of Palestinian group Hamas and the return of Israeli hostages could end Israel’s war in the Gaza Strip and prevent a ground incursion, Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Jonathan Conricus told ABC Radio Melbourne on Sunday night.

“If Hamas were to come out of their hiding places, that they hide underneath the civilian places, which is what they’re doing now, return our hostages, all 212 of them, and surrender unconditionally, then the war will end. If they won’t, we will probably have to go in and get it done,” he said, declining to elaborate if dismantling Hamas or rescuing hostages is the current IDF priority.

“The aim here is to totally dismantle Hamas from its military capabilities. If that can be done from the air, and with standoff measures, with very limited exposure to our troops and less damage on the ground, that would be great,” he added.

An Israeli ground incursion into the Gaza Strip has been long anticipated since the IDF instructed civilians in northern Gaza to evacuate southward toward the end of the first week of hostilities. Human rights groups have decried the possibility, pointing to a likely exacerbation of the existing humanitarian crisis in the embattled enclosure. Conricus reiterated that the IDF does not set out to target civilians, while claiming that Hamas uses non-combatants as human shields.

“Once we will bury our dead, we will get busy with Hamas, we will see an end to the Hamas, and then the security situation Israel and also for Gaza will be better,” the spokesperson said.

— Ruxandra Iordache

Seventeen people were killed and dozens were injured in two Israeli airstrikes in the north of the Gaza Strip on Monday morning, the Palestinian Ministry of Interior said in a Google-translated update on Telegram.

The ministry added that the two offensives hit two residences.

The Israel Defense Force on Sunday night said it was continuing to strike “dozens of Hamas terror targets in the Gaza Strip,” as part of its ongoing retaliatory offensive in the region for the Hamas multi-pronged attacks of Oct. 7. On Monday morning, the IDF said it had struck over 320 military targets in the Gaza Strip over the course of the past day.

The Israeli military says it does not target civilians in Gaza and exclusively pursues Hamas positions.

CNBC could not independently verify the reports.

— Ruxandra Iordache

The Israel Defense Forces said they struck more military positions held by Lebanese militant group Hezbollah overnight.

The targets included infrastructure including a military compound and an observation post, along with four cells on the border with Lebanon.

CNBC could not independently verify developments on the ground.

Israel and Hezbollah have been exchanging fire since the start of Israel’s conflict with Palestinian militant group Hamas.

— Ruxandra Iordache

Additional medical supplies from the World Health Organization have entered the Gaza Strip, the organization’s Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said early Monday on social media.

The WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean said this equipment will facilitate surgical interventions for 1,300 people, basic and essential health services for 100,000 patients for a duration of three months, along with treatment for 150,000 chronic disease patients.

Tedros reiterated a call for sustained safe passage for the humanitarian aid convoy and for fuel volumes so sustain both the delivery trucks delivering the assistance and the health facilities of the territories, which have been struggling with electricity shortages.

A first humanitarian truck convoy entered the Gaza Strip over the weekend, through the Rafah crossing that borders the territory by way of Egypt.

— Ruxandra Iordache

In the wake of the deadly terrorist attack on Israel earlier this month and the country’s response to it, protestors and bigots have taken to social media to spout hateful rhetoric about Israelis. Now, many American Jews who feel unsafe are putting aside their distaste for guns and gun ownership and are buying weapons to protect themselves, according to an NBC News report.

There has been a rush of new customers seeking to buy guns and train up how to use them, according to NBC News.

“We’ve definitely seen a tremendous increase in religious Jewish people, Orthodox people, purchasing firearms,” David Kowalsky, owner of Florida Gun Store in Hollywood, who also offers firearms training, told NBC News. “I’ve seen a surge in interest in individual training as well as group training.”

See the NBC News report here.

— Terri Cullen

A 20-truck convoy filled with medical supplies, food and water passed through the Rafah Crossing into Gaza on Saturday, with 14 more crossing over on Sunday.

The aid will continue to flow on a daily basis, according to David Satterfield, Special Envoy for Middle East Humanitarian Issues.

The goal is to have a “continuous flow of assistance moving” to Gaza, said Satterfield on MSNBC’s “Inside with Jen Psaki.”

Satterfield said that Hamas, which the United States has designated a terrorist group, has been warned that if it interferes with the aid there is a chance that it stops.

Israel’s potential ground invasion into Gaza could also make it more difficult to deliver aid, he said. There has been concern over Palestinians’ access to water as well, and Satterfield said that the U.S. is working with the Israeli government to restore water pipelines.

Satterfield said one of the two key pipelines is restored and they are working on the other.

“The people of Gaza need to be able to live secure lives in Gaza and that requires an end to Hamas’ ability to govern, to exploit and to dominate with their terror,” said Satterfield.

In addition to aid delivery, Satterfield is working on finding ways for Americans and foreign nationals in Gaza to be able to leave.

— Jake Piazza

President Joe Biden on Sunday had a conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about the ongoing Israel-Hamas war and the status of Gaza.

Biden and Netanyahu “affirmed that there will now be continued flow” of critical humanitarian assistance into Gaza, the White House said in a statement.

The first wave of humanitarian aid trickled into Gaza on Saturday via 20 trucks that crossed the Rafah border in northern Egypt.

The aid is ready to be deployed according to United Nations World Food Programme Director Cindy McCain, but the trucks have been standing by waiting for clearance to pass through the Rafah crossing.

Civilians in Gaza, caught in the crossfire of the war, have been left without basic necessities like food, water, shelter and medical resources.

While speaking to Netanyahu, Biden also mentioned the ongoing efforts to release American hostages and provide safe passage for U.S. citizens to leave Gaza.

— Rebecca Picciotto

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Sunday that the United States expects the Israel-Hamas war to escalate by proxies of Iran directed against American armed forces and personnel, and that the U.S. is prepared to respond in the event that happens.

“We are taking steps to make sure that we can effectively defend our people and respond decisively if we need to. This is not what we want, not what we’re looking for. We don’t want escalation.” Blinken said at an appearance during NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “We don’t want to see a second or third front develop. We don’t want to see our forces or our personnel come under fire. But if that happens, we’re ready for it.”

The U.S. had announced Sunday that non-essential staff at its embassy in Iraq should leave the country.

— Pia Singh

Protracted conflict and violence amid the Israel-Hamas war have led to mass demonstrations across the globe.

• On Sunday, thousands of people in Berlin and London took part in vigils to oppose antisemitism and support Israel. The same day, thousands of pro-Palestinian demonstrators in Paris and other European cities were demanding a cease-fire and aid for people in the Gaza Strip.
• On Saturday, nearly 100,000 people joined a pro-Palestinian demonstration in central London, demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. The demonstration, which was organized by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, moved through London before protesters gathered at the official residence and office of British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. Pro-Palestinian rallies also took place in Los Angeles and New York on Saturday.
• On Friday, a wave of demonstrations occurred across the Middle East. Individuals held marches outside Israeli and U.S. diplomatic missions blaming Israel and its allies for the violence and worsening humanitarian conditions in the West Bank, where an increase in violence has been reported against Palestinian residents, as well as Gaza, where Israeli forces continue attacking the enclave. Some burned Israeli flags and stepped on portraits of U.S. President Joe Biden, who has urged Americans to stand by Israel.
• On Wednesday, hundreds of demonstrators from Jewish advocacy groups in the U.S. marched on Capitol Hill, calling for a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas. More than 300 people were arrested for illegally demonstrating.
• Around the world: Thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters have also marched in several cities across Ireland, France, Italy, Australia, Germany, Kosovo and Lebanon. Jewish communities in the U.S., France and elsewhere have also held rallies in solidarity with Israel.

— Pia Singh